2010 June 27th:
Mark:
I didn’t sleep very well with thoughts of the coming day running through my mind. I woke right up with the alarm and quickly took a shower. I gathered my things and started to pack what I wasn’t going to wear. I got Niko going and he started his shower. Once I was dressed for riding, I started to load up the motorcycle with my stuff. I was having a difficult time putting all of it into the boxes on the bike. I had been wearing a lot of it before and now I wasn’t, so now it had to be packed. I managed to get everything loaded onto my bike and finally I was ready to go. Niko was almost ready too.
I said my goodbyes to Shawn and then we drove to the gas station next to the apartment complex and fueled up the motorcycles. I followed the GPS and it took us through a part of Portland that I had never been in. It took us through the west hills of Portland Oregon that overlooked the downtown area. We were heading toward US-30 in North Western Portland to meet up with Larry. He wanted to accompany us to the coast and join us for a ride. We met up at Jack in the Box so that we could all have some fast food breakfast and then headed out toward Astoria.
When we left the sky was filled with clouds and that kept the temperature lower than we would have liked it. It was below 60°F and stayed that way until well into the afternoon. I felt underdressed. I was wearing my Heat Gear, in hopes of warmer weather and the cool air was keeping me cold. I soldiered on and we reached Astoria and we went up to the Astoria Column. We parked the bikes and then I grabbed the camera and headed up the column. It only took a couple of minutes and I was overheated. I took a bunch of pictures and then we went down and moved the bikes in front of the column and took a few more pictures.
We left and went downtown to the Oregon Film Museum. Larry wanted to go see this attraction and we followed along. It was a very interesting place to visit.
We took off and headed over to the Fort Clatsop National Historic Monument to get a stamp in my passport. We saw the Fort and then we took off and rode down to Tillamook Oregon. We stopped at the Tillamook Cheese factory to sample some cheese and wander around for a few minutes.
When we left, we went down to Pacific City Oregon and found a place to eat some dinner. While waiting for our table, we spoke to many people about our trip. It seems that there are quite a few people who are interested in knowing what we are doing. Once we were seated, we met another individual who writes for a magazine and he gave us a copy. The magazine is called “Overland” and it is about people who travel to exotic places and their stories. Maybe Niko and I are the type of people that could have a story in this magazine.
Our meal was wonderful and it was also where we were to split up with Larry and go our separate ways. Larry took off back toward Portland and Niko and I headed south toward Lincoln City Oregon and found a place to stay. Our day on the coast was filled with beautiful weather, wonderful scenery and many interesting people.
We rode 221 miles today and found a nice place to stay. We spent some time in the pool and Jacuzzi after we got settled and then I took a walk up to the nearest grocery store and bought us some snacks. We have had a busy day and I’m tired. Thank You. Good Night.

Niko:
I was awoken from my insane dreams of legend of Zelda, and walked straight to the shower. I then packed for the day, wearing my heat gear with a thermal shirt over it. With farewells to Shawn and fresh gas in the bellies of our bikes, we rode on towards Jack in the Box on US-30 in North Western Portland to meet up with my wild uncle Larry. The road we rode to get there was unfamiliar and twisted, making for a great ride.
We ate and read a few comics before leaving, one worth mentioning was Dilbert. (Tech/computer service oriented, so I can relate.) My cousin Andy was also set to ride with us this morning, but he lost his keys this morning. I wish you luck on finding them. ^_^ We took off in the direction of Astoria as soon as our windshields were clean.
We passed the column in Astoria based on GPS directions, and there were even paintings on the ground pointing to the streets that lead to the Astoria Column. I noticed that the roads were quite steep here and occasionally freaky. Dad showed off a bit with a wheelie. I was nowhere near that confident in my skill for that. Not on that road.
Astoria Column was quite a sight as always, tall and ornate against a grey sky. The sky cleared as we climbed the 164 steps to the top. The view was great and good pictures were taken. A boy at the top was scared of dying by the tower collapsing if he stepped out into the open, and he kind of reminded me of myself at his age. So I helped him conquer his fear and when I left, he wanted to stay up there.
We continued on and visited the county jail where Goonies was filmed. There were many trinkets from the movie in multiple exhibits. I laughed when I saw all the names of movies filmed in Oregon on plastic movie markers, and only one of the eight displayed was broken… Twilight. On our way out of town, moving on to Fort Clatsop, we rode up the steepest hill I’ve ever been on with or without a vehicle (Roughly a 60+° hill). I honestly felt like I was going to fall backwards and tumble for half a mile.
Upon arrival at Fort Clatsop, Dad got his passport stamped, and I took pictures at the fort and the canoe wharf. A man was demonstrating a flintlock rifle when I was beckoned back by a motorcycle honk. We moved on down the road to Seaside. We wanted a picture on the coast, but the crowd was enormous, so we decided to bag the idea. Forward, to Tillamook!
Tillamook was extremely automated, and I only managed to find 6 workers in the factory rooms. And that was a full production day! Also, it was absolutely packed full of people. It was still cool, but so far from my childhood memory of visiting Tillamook years ago.
We soon moved onto Pacific City. We stopped at a nice brewery pub with a priceless view of Haystack rock called the Pelican. I ate the “Northwest Fish and Chips” and delighted in the fresh seafood (beer battered fresh snapper). Larry had to split, and so we had to wave him off at a turn down the road.
We rode as far as Lincoln city and got gas. We checked the time and decided to stop. We stayed at the Ashley Inn and Suites down the road for a mere $80+ dollars on a Sunday. It has turned out to be a wonderful place to stay, and we went to the indoor salt pool and spa to relax a bit. I met some nice girls and several families visiting from Portland. The dry sauna was set to over 240° F and I only managed 3 minutes before getting out, covered in sweat. I showered and we ate some fresh local strawberries and some “Phish Food” ice cream as we did the blog. I went down and snagged an orange Fanta before finishing this.
I am very tired right now, as it is almost 2, so I’m going to bed, goodnight and thank you for reading this blog.